Chinese woman charms audience with Indian classical dance

KUALA LUMPUR: Mastering Indian classical dance forms can be tough for many dancers, but not for a Chinese woman, Ng Xinying, 28, who has been involved in the dance for the past 10 years and has charmed audiences with her performances.
Proving that the performing arts have no racial barrier, the Johor Baru-born woman has been challenging herself to master the classical dance which requires various facial expressions as well as stamina and body coordination.
"Besides testing the stamina, it needs overall body movements from top to bottom including the eyes, head, neck, fingers, arms and legs.
"The most challenging part is to convey the messages and drama through facial expressions like anger, happiness and sadness. To be in character, I always practise in front of the mirror," she told Bernama after participating in the Traditional Arts Theatre 2017 - Indian Classical Dance Collection organised by the National Department for Culture and Arts, here, last night.
Ng who graduated from Korea National University of Arts, said her decision to learn Indian classical dance had indirectly enabled her to embrace the spirit of 1Malaysia.
"Besides dance, I also learned a lot about the culture and background of the dance, how to wear the sari and speak Sanskrit," said the eldest of three siblings and who is with the TFA Inner Space Dance Company.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Khairi Mokthar, 27, said he was determined to achieve the "Arangetram", the highest level in "Bharatanatyam", a major genre in Indian classical dance.
He said he overcame the challenges, especially the language barrier with great determination and interest as well as assistance from teachers and colleagues.
"Most of the lyrics are in Tamil and Telegu and it's not easy to understand them. At first I just memorised them and at the same time my friends also helped to translate the words," said the Negri Sembilan-born dancer.
Mohammad Khairi said he wished to share the knowledge and experience in Indian classical dance with young people interested in the dance form by opening his own dance academy. — Bernama